Glenn Earl

Strengths: Glenn Earl reads and reacts quickly to the football, skills he likely developed as a standout wide receiver in high school. Fast (he’s clocked a 4.53/40), Earl is known as a vicious hitter with a nose for the football and the ability to cover the field from sideline to sideline.

At Notre Dame, he excelled on special teams early in his career, blocking both a punt and a field goal as a sophomore before moving into the starting line-up permanently as a junior. Earl played both free and strong safety, proving to have both the speed to stay with wide receivers and the size to take on tight ends and fullback. A dedicated worker, Earl excels in the classroom, too.

Areas of Concern: Unfortunately, Earl played in only six games last year after tearing his ACL in October, costing him valuable experience at strong saefty, where he was moved after the 2002 season. He was limited at the combine and is roughly 85% healed, but he expects to be ready to go for minicamps this summer. Shortly thereafter, we’ll know how much of an impact the injury had on his speed.

And while healthy, his speed and instincts jumped out at you, so did Earl’s propensity to fall out of position and miss plays, which was a problem because he already lacked that burst of quickness necessary to recover when finding himself at the wrong spot.

2004 Expectations: Earl primarily played free safety in South Bend, but likely projects to strong safety in the NFL. With his relative inexperience, he would have to be deemed raw at this point, though he exhibits mounds of talent and will work hard. And like fellow draftee, Dunta Robinson, Earl hits like a hurricane and should be a disruptive force on special teams, assuming he’s fully recovered from the surgery.

by Ric Sweeney

YEAR G TAK PD INT TD 2003 6 35 2 1 0 TOTALS 38 169 8 4 0

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